Three life coaches reveal what you could earn as a life coach

Wondering about the typical life coach salary? We spoke to three people working in the industry about how much you can expect to earn

3 life coaches reveal the typical life coach salary
(Image credit: Getty Images)

So, what is the typical life coach salary? If you're thinking of becoming a life coach, it's one of the main questions you may be asking. There are plenty of reputable life coaching courses out there, but they can be costly. So, naturally, it's important for many to know they can support themselves financially once they have gained their qualifications. 

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)  the average UK salary comes in at £585 per week, which equates to £30,420. But, says career coach Elizabeth Houghton, (suttonfullpotential.com) life coaches can typically earn over and above this figure.

"From my experience online life coaches can make between £60 per hour to £120 per hour on average, which means, depending on their client base, they can expect to  typically make £35k plus a year," she explains. 

"This can increase up to around £120k, depending on the level of experience they gain."

The above figures roughly mirror those featured on the world’s most advanced compensation platform Payscale which puts the hourly earnings range for UK life coaches between £20-£97, with an average of £48 an hour, and also gives an annual salary range between £24k and £164k.

Graduate career site Prospects also outlines that life coaches can expect to charge £40 to £60 per hour, with more experienced coaches charging up to £100 per session, and executive coaches also potentially being able to charge more still.

Suzy Ashworth (suzyashworth.com), a quantum transformation coach who helps coaches, consultants and experts create six-figure breakthroughs in their businesses fast, also outlines that the key to life coaches reaching their earning potential actually lies in creating dedicated packages.

"The way I advise life coaches to charge for their services is to move away from an hourly rate and create packages," she says. "My recommendation for a 90-day package for a new life coach would be £1,500 with someone more experienced charging £5k for between 6 - 10 sessions.

"As a starting point online programmes and courses can be priced anywhere from £97 through to £2,497."

She also goes on recommend that things such as webinars should be run for free to introduce people into the life coach’s world.

Michael Serwa (michaelserwa.com) coaches the elite, including many CEOs and other HNWIs (high net worth individuals), using his signature no-bullsh*t approach.

Starting in 2011, he has built ‘one of the most successful personal coaching practices in the world’ (which he says is No.1 in the UK).

He’s been featured in Forbes, GQ, The Times, The Observer, The Telegraph, and on BBC and Sky News. 

"In my previous fashion retail career I was on £2k per month. When I started coaching, my first financial goal was to match that. To begin though, I was out of a job, £5k in credit card debt and collecting jobseeker’s allowance every two weeks,’ he explains.

"My first clients were paying just £20 per session and in those early days I would take on anyone willing to work with me.  

"Through an enormous amount of effort and perseverance, working seven days a week for the first few years, my client base steadily grew and as my confidence and ability to help them increased, so did my fees. I’ve also spoken at around 250 events on a wide variety of personal development and business topics; I’ve written a book and 100 articles. 

"Now I charge anything between £5k and £50k per programme, generating an annual turnover of around £500k, and expecting to reach a million in the next few years. Almost 100 per cent of my income comes from one-to-one coaching."

He goes on to offer his top three pieces of advice for new life coaches in terms of maximising their earning potential on a life coach salary. 

How to maximise your earning potential as a life coach

1. Understand that coaching is the easy part, it’s the business of coaching that you need to learn a lot about to have any chance of succeeding.

2. Charge per programme, not per individual session. 

3. Get a mentor, someone who already has what you want, to teach you how they did it.

It seems that the salary for life coaches can vary widely over the span of their career, but there is the potential to hit six figures, particularly if life coaches are able to tap into additional income streams which could include any of the following: book deals, paid magazine columns/TV appearances (though many may offer these without charge as they offer more exposure for their business), creating their own courses teaching others how to become life coaches, revenue from a successful YouTube channel.

But as with reaching the heights of any role, patience, business acumen and a lot of effort are required. However, providing that’s there, there’s no reason why any would-be life coach couldn't turn this into a thriving, full-time or part-time career.

If you're wondering how to find a life coach online, we have a guide on how to spot the fakers. 

If you're thinking on embarking on becoming a life coach, good luck!

Miriam worked for woman&home for over five years and previously worked on the women's lifestyle magazines Woman and Woman's Own.